Survey Finds One in Three Consumers Donâ€™t Trust the Government to Protect Them From Online Fraud and Abuse

October 19, 2011

The Joint Study by ThreatMetrix and The Ponemon Institute Reveals Consumers Trust the Federal Government Least, Local and Municipal Government Most.

LOS ALTOS, CA (PRWEB) October 19, 2011

ThreatMetrixÃ¢“¢, the fastest growing provider of cloud-based fraud prevention solutions that do not require personally identifiable information (PII), today announced results of a joint study with The Ponemon Institute, Ã¢Å“Mobile Payments & Online Shopping Survey of U.S. Consumers.Ã¢ The survey, which looked at U.S. consumers who self-reported they are active users of the Internet, revealed 34% do not trust any government entity to protect them from fraud and abuse Ã¢“ specifically when conducting government-related online or mobile payments.

While the majority of consumers do not trust any government entity, 31% reported trusting the municipal and local government the most for online fraud prevention measures. Twenty-six percent said they trust the state government most; with only 9% of participants most confident in the federal government.

However, when consumers were asked which government entity they trust the most if it came to cyber warfare (such as a cyber-attack that damages the electric power grid or infects the water supply), consumer sentiments changed slightly. While the majority of survey participants also reported not trusting any aspect of the government (34%), they placed more confidence in federal or state government over municipal or local entities.

Where consumers place their trust when it comes to protecting them against cyber warfare:

29% trust federal or state government most

8% trust municipal and local government most

34% do not trust any government entity

Consumers were also asked if they would ever make a mobile payment from a smartphone or tablet to remunerate fees to a government entity Ã¢“ like income tax payment to the IRS, excise fees to their state DMV, local real estate taxes, and so forth. Only 11% of survey respondents confirmed that they have made a mobile payment to the government, with 37% indicating they would never make a government payment from a mobile device. Ten-percent expressed that they are Ã¢Å“unsure.Ã¢

Ã¢Å“These findings confirm that government-related mobile payments have yet to be widely adopted,Ã¢ said Bert Rankin, vice president of marketing, ThreatMetrix. Ã¢Å“Sixty-three percent of survey respondents indicated they feel more comfortable making a traditional payment like a personal check, with a majority indicating a preference for written proof of payment. Only when the government adopts more policies around fraud prevention tactics will consumers start to feel comfortable making mobile payments. Ã¢

Rankin added that government agencies are regularly combating fraud and preventing improper payments, but still have a long way to go. Rigid guidelines for fraud prevention in this sector have yet to be enforced, such as what is outlined by the Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council (FFIEC) for financial institutions. The U.S. Office of Management and Budget estimates more than $125 billion was lost in improper government payments in 2010 alone, a year-over-year increase of $15 billion.

ThreatMetrix helps companies stop web fraud and accelerate e-commerce in real-time so they can significantly reduce online fraud, acquire more customers faster, reduce costs, and increase customer satisfaction. The ThreatMetrix Cloud-Based Fraud Prevention Platform, incorporating ThreatMetrix SmartIDÃ¢“¢ cookieless device identification, provides online businesses with the ability to protect themselves and their customers by verifying new accounts, authorizing payments and transactions and authenticaticating user logins in real-time. Online businesses can deploy the ThreatMetrix Cloud-based Fraud Prevention Platform , which does not rely on personally identifiable information (PII), for traditional online activity via a personal computer as well as for mobile and tablet devices. The company serves a rapidly growing customer base around the world across a variety of industries including social networks (dating, gaming), financial services, e-commerce, affiliate marketing and payments. For more information, visit http://www.threatmetrix.com or call 1-650-625-1451.